The SFXn was possibly the second in the series of AF bodies, and the autofocus is probably a little slow by modern standards. However, there is no reason at all why you shouldn't take great pictures with it, and if you need a new lens then any Pentax AF lens will be fully functional.

You can also use any manual focus Pentax lenses, with limitations depending on the lens.

In summary, the letters mean:

Manual focus:
S lenses are screw thread, labelled Takumar. Super takumar, SMC Takumar
K lenses are the first bayonet lenses, labelled SMC Pentax
M lenses are the compact range labelled SMC Pentax-M
A lenses add the ability for the camera to control the aperture via electronic contacts and are SMC Pentax-A
F, FA lenses are autofocus as well.
FA-J have no aperture rings and are thus set permanently on "A"
DA lenses cover a smaller image circle and are for digital SLRs.

The nice thing is you can still use all of these even on the latest digital bodies! Fantastic!

People will freely help you on this website - ask the questions, and someone will have the answers!

I'm not sure that a course would be that terrific via the web, but I could be wrong. Why not join your local photographic society? The Jessops website has a "club finder" section - put in your postcode and it will give you the location of the nearest clubs.

If you want to see what a good club can offer, check out the ADAPS site at www.adaps.org.uk

Have fun!

I would hazard a guess that a close up program would use a small aperture for maximising depth of field, which is very shallow at close distances. You would then need to mount the camera on a tripod as shutter speeds would be correspondingly long.

The "little green flower" symbol seems to be universally used to signify close focusing.

A macro lens will give superior results at close distances, being computed for the purpose. A zoom lens with a macro facility may well be pretty good when stopped down to its optimum aperture - at close range this could well be f11 or f16. At normal distances good lenses should be at their optimum at f5.6 or f8.

There are only a couple of bodies that will mean you can't meter with your lenses and these are the cheaper ones. (Someone will know which ones exactly!)

I would suggest the MZ5, MZ5n and MZ3 would be the most logical choices for you as you are used to the ME/MX designs. All these retain shutter dials like the MX and can operate in a very similar way as well as offering many more modern features.

I'm surprised to find that I have used almost all the M series lenses up to about 200mm, and most of them are superb. The only thing that is allowed to drift is the accuracy of drawing, but modern zoom lens users won't find anything strange in that....

I also used to have a SMC Pentax-M 85mm f2 and I was never happy with the resolution. The 100mm f2.8 is much better!

I think it does when you try to use a lens with no aperture ring, or use a lens on the A setting, because then you lose functionality as per the list in the instruction book.

M lenses work fine with the *istDS, but it is a bind switching the aperture ring permission on and off if you have a mixture of lenses.

Because of this, apart from perhaps taking a series of macro shots with my SMC Pentax-M 50mm f4 Macro lens, I have decided to use A series lenses and later with the digital bodies. Then there is no problem at all.

Just to add to Kimbo's comment - sometimes seemingly identical items on eBay can go for very different prices because perhaps one description gives bidders more confidence than another. It could be the condition as shown in a photo, the rating of the seller's feedback, the location of the item, the extras included, the postage rates, etc.

Personally I feel discouraged by sellers giving lots of negative information about non-paying bidders and promising negative feedback and all that sort of thing - it makes it look as though they experience lots of trouble and it makes me wonder why. Also reams of conditions are rather over the top!

So I think there's more to it than meets the eye!

It depends on the lens. A mint "other make" lens of 135mm f2.8 is probably in reality not worth much more than a fiver!

A mint SMC Pentax-M 135mm f3.5 could be worth £20 - £30

If the condition is less than perfect I wouldn't bother because there are so many of them to choose from.

Ultimately, though, the price is effectively whatever the buyer is prepared to pay.